Lessons For Survival From Letting Go and Floating
December 20, 2009
Have I shared with you the lessons I learned when I attempted to swim across the straits?
In our teenage years, my sister and I used to hit the pool every weekend as we improved our strokes and stamina. Back and forth and back and forth. And when I was at college I continued that practice with my fellow students and we kind of "challenged" each other with new targets each year.
We would attend summer camp every year out in the nature where there will be opportunities to be away from studies and ponder on life and its philosophies. And these camp sites were chosen with the most basic of facilities so we would have opportunities to stretch, toughen up and grow.
We would swim across lakes or sleep in tents out in the open or something like that. Sometimes raccoons and squirrels visited us at night. Although summer was sunny and bright but the water in the lake was cold. Getting into the water was winning half the battle.
And I felt great when I made it across the lake in beautiful camp Kanawana, Quebec. I thought my training has prepared me well for this and I am ready to take on more challenges.
Fast forward to graduation. During one annual camp held at Pulau Ubin, Singapore (this was many years ago, the island does not look the same now) a group of us decided to swim across, touched the tip of Johor and looped back to Ubin.
Please do not ask me why I did that. The boys were going and I was not going to just sit around and be left out of the game. That was too exciting a challenge to not participate in.
Thinking back that was not the wisest thing to do. It was an impromptu suggestion; we had not planned it with security measures in place. I guess I was impulsive when I was younger. I did not think too much, I wanted to stretch myself and I went. Please do not attempt this on your own – we left our elders quite worried on that occasion, and were reprimanded appropriately when we got back.
I had not swam out into the open waters before that. I thought all the training and the workouts have prepared me for this. The shore did not look so distant but I had not factored in the waves, the wind, the traffic and my own reactions when the rubber meets the road.
I swam hard and before long was tired out by the waves. I had also swallowed mouthful of sea water when I panicked! I knew the moves, but I had not anticipated the waves and the wind. The shore suddenly seemed so far away and with every wave I got pushed back. And the harder I swam, the more tired I get.
I was not trained for this, I was not ready. There were also jelly fish and traffic going across the straits; the water was choppy and the waves strong. Fortunately, instinct kicked in and I learned to ride the waves and let it carry me before I take the next stroke.
It was slow but I was able to conserve energy and made it to and fro – with some treading of water in between as I regained my focus, my sense of direction and confidence. There were brief moments when I reached out and held onto the edge of the one little kayak that was "escorting" us.
Yes, it was not glamorous. I did not go unassisted all the way. But when you need to survive, you set your ego aside and do what is essential. I learned the trick of letting go and of going with the rhythm of the wave.
It is a nice feeling to be carried by the waters, and to know that when you are exhausted from swimming, you can tread water and float (or hang onto something that floats).
I am not advocating inactivity nor passive non-productivity. I believe in the discipline of work yet I know there is great wisdom in letting go and floating when the season is for us to nurture and to ponder on the really important things in life. Less is more. The more weights we carry, you faster we will sink.
So remember to float at times and we need to do that mentally, spiritually and physically. And we can apply this lesson to our work, our plans, our businesses, our relationships and our health. Sometimes nature wants us to step back and recharge and to get ready for the summer. When spring comes, when the timing is right, we will launch our new plan and get into action.
Floating is effortless and rejuvenating. And if you like you can get a rubber float so you can really lie on it and sip your glass of cocktail too! Even the rubber float has a lesson for us. Care to float?
By the way, you can sign up for free digital guides here to help you enjoy your floats here and now.
You Cannot Change The Economy, But You Can Change Your Philosophy
December 16, 2009
When I heard that Mr Jim Rohn had passed us on on the 5th Dec, I know he will be greatly missed. I went to his quotes and was savoring the width and depth of the wisdom of his teaching.
I had read these words before, but they now speak to me in a different way. Profound wisdom drawn from everyday yet delivered with such unassuming simplicity and sincerity!
This is a 6-minute video that can be be life-changing for you. Grab your coffee, take a deep breadth and be open to receive and absorb …
Some golden quotes from this video include:
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."
"Things don't cost too much, you can't afford them."
"If you want to reach things on the higher shelf you have to stand on the books you read."
"Success is something you attract by the person you become, not something you chase."
"Your income is directly related to your philosophy not your economy."
"Not to search for the exotic until you have discovered the basics. The basic disciplines is personal development."
This last quote reminds me of the "wax on and wax off" process prescribed by the kung-fu master to the rookie apprentice. It is so important to work on the basics before we flap our wings to fly. And as you work hard to lay the foundations (which is often below the ground and may not have results to show), know that the exotic will one day come; when we have mastered the basics.
Feel free to share your thoughts or press tweet below so others can also benefit from our collective comments.
Group Coaching For Endless Colorful Possibilities
December 14, 2009
End of the year is great time for review and reflection and making of new plans. I started jotting down events of the year. I question why some of these happen, I do not understand the complexities when I am seeking simple straight forward answers. I see constant changes in the landscape and life seems too complicated!
Individually, these events seem disjointed, but put together they seem to tell me a story. You see, when I take my storyboard of 2009 and put in different reflecting mirrors at different inclined angles and I see a different picture. So now, not only the story changes each time I rearrange the events, the entire picture changes if I use different mirrors (with different properties) and if I incline them at different angles to each other. This is my kaleidoscope with endless possibilities.
We all know what a kaleidoscope is. It is an optical device made up of multiple inclined mirrors that reflect images of bits of colored glass or other objects in a design. The design changes each time you rotate the section containing the loose fragments. The magic is in the mirrors. Different mirrors have different properties and depending on the different angles of inclination you see a different picture.
For this reason I join different groups for my personal and business development. Each time I bring my questions or challenging issues to the group I get new interpretations and some different perspectives. Some of these pictures are totally refreshing and new to me. The power of reflecting mirrors.
Let us draw some lessons from the kaleidoscope:
1 – Your mirror will only reflect what is there already with the same angle of incline; they do not create or make up the content.
Application: the next time you do not like what you see reflected back at you from the mirror, please do not smash the mirror. Your friend or accountability partner is merely reflecting not creating the image.
2- When rays are reflected from a rough surface, they are reflected in many directions and no clear image is formed. Similarly, rays that are reflected from a smooth surface, gives you a clear image.
Application: seek the right kind of mirrors in your life. It is no use trying to get a mirror that makes us look fit when we need to work out and be conscious of living a healthy lifestyle. Without knowing the "truth" we cannot make improvements.
We are great at deceiving ourselves; we believe what we want to believe. Sometimes when the truth hurts too much, we choose to avoid, deny or hear what we want to hear and see what we want to see.
If you are near the dye vermilion, you will be stained red, if you are close to black ink, you will be stained black. – Chinese Proverb.
Choose your company wisely.
3- Image is reversed in the mirror left to right. What you see is a switch. We know what we feel and how we feel. And we also want to observe how others feel from where they stand. Being in a group and having different perspectives helps us see us through the eyes of others; we become our own observer.
Application: The situation is (or we are) not as "bad" or as "good" as we think. Others will offer you a different story.
4- What you see in the mirror is a virtual image; the pattern in the kaleidoscope is beautiful but not real. To make it real, we have to actualize it. We need to make it happen, create the reality of the picture you see, and yes we can not run away from the goals, the plans and the executions.
So whether you want to make sense of what is happening or that you want to have more mirrors offering you reflections from different angles, you can consider being a part of a group.
if you are not up for a more business-like mastermind group, you can join an online group with group coaching facilities. Here you are given the opportunity to have your views expanded, you are given time to realise your own answers, to see things from different perspectives and you are given the space and time to go a little deeper and make some sense out of the complexities you see around you.
How would you want to develop your story in 2010?
By the way, I am sure you carry a mirror in your bag, there may also be one on your desk, so let this be a year of reflecting mirrors!
Leave your comments, share your light and input for our kaleidoscope!
Connect With Me
eZine Diamond Expert Author
